ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Sporting News Top 20 has no shortage of USC commitments, and the program landed another one during a live television broadcast on Friday.

Leon McQuay III used the bright lights and national television platform of the Under Armour All-America Game to make his college decision known. McQuay, a defensive back out of the Tampa (Fla.) area who is rated No. 8 overall in the SN125, was also seriously considering Vanderbilt, Oregon, Michigan and Florida State—but in the end the Trojans were able to lure the talented safety to the other side of the country.

He visited all five schools, but said it was the music school and the football program that broke the tie. Vanderbilt was a serious contender too. He joins No. 1 Max Browne, No. 4 Ty Isaac, No. 11 Kenny Bigelow, No. 12 Michael Hutchings and No. 18 Su’a Cravens as USC commitments within the SN’s top 20.

The program only has 15 commitments, about 10 fewer than most programs because of scholarship limitations due to recent NCAA sanctions. So the McQuay addition was huge.

“It’s been an up and down roller coaster because from day one I knew that Leon wanted to chase music and that made it unique,” Leon McQuay Jr., his father, told Sporting News just moments after the decision. “I can understand the decision. I can live with it because he’s following his passion. And if it is a mistake, we don’t know, but it’s his mistake and we’ll live with it. As a father, you raise them to let them go eventually.”

The elder McQuay said that when former USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin first began showing interest in his son, it was a powerful draw for the family because of Kiffin’s past success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kiffin was a huge reason behind the Bucs’ Super Bowl win a decade ago, and was somewhat of a coaching legend in the greater Tampa area. When the elder Kiffin stepped down in late November, it nearly changed everything. In the end though, it came back to USC.

“That was the initial interest, Monte,” the father said. “When he decided to step down, USC took a backseat. As a father, I was drawn to Monte. But I’ve warmed up to Lane (Kiffin). I can’t complain that my son has an opportunity to have a great education there. It’s not about football. I’m happy.”

The younger McQuay is quite shy and when asked about when he chose USC for sure, he actually said he didn’t want to say. But he did say a December visit to the school was a major factor.

“It’s just the best place to be,” McQuay III told Sporting News. “They have the great football and the great music program and great academics all the way around. It’s a great school. It’s great knowing I played pretty well out here tonight (at the Under Armour game) and I did OK. I’ll probably leave for USC next week.”

On the flip side, safety Max Redfield dropped the Trojans this week and turned around and on Friday picked the No. 1 team in the country—Notre Dame. Redfield had been committed to USC for several months. He made his decision on live television too, saying it was between USC and the Fighting Irish—then pulled out a Notre Dame cap to make it official. Redfield is also an SN125 player.

Three non SN125 players also made their decisions known.

The first announcement of the night at the Under Armour All-America Game made LSU fans giddy--as it was a victory over Alabama. Kendell Beckwith, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker/defensive end out of East Feliciana HS in Jackson (La.), was the first to choose schools, opting for the in-state Tigers over the defending national champion Crimson Tide. It wasn't a surprising move, actually. With his parents flanking him, he put on an LSU ballcap without any kind of fanfare. Auburn, Florida State and Miami had also been considered late in the process.

"I feel more at home there and felt more comfortable with them through the whole process," Beckwith said on live television.

LSU now has 26 commitments for the signing class of 2013.

Also choosing schools were DE Ebenezer Ogundeko, a Brooklyn (N.Y.) native who chose Clemson over Syracuse, and LB Trey Johnson out of Georgia, who chose Ohio State over Georgia and Auburn.